Mineral raw materials for engineering works

Mineral raw materials for engineering works are usually clayey-sandy and clayey rocks, but also others - sandstones and limestones. These raw materials are utilized in road industry for road embankements building or in waste disposal packing and reclamation.

Usually (about 70 %) resources of mineral raw materials for engineering works are documented as accompanying raw material - these are the parts of deposits which do not meet the balancing criterias of the main raw material, i.e. parts of sand and gravel deposits with too high ash content or parts of dimension and crushed stones deposits with too low strenght.

Anticipated economic resources amounted to 9.49 million m³ in 2014 and increased by 1.704 million m³ (21.9 %) in comparison with the previous year.

There were three new deposits documented in 2014: Dębnica and Dębnica I (Dolnośląskie Voivodeship) and Grabówka-Fosa (Lubelskie Voivodeship) – the resources grew by 2.033 million m³. Four deposits were crossed out of “The balance…” – Ciechanki Łańc. VI (Lubelskie Voivodeship), Siedlin and Góry VIII (Mazowieckie Voivodeship) and Męciszów I (Podkarpackie Voivodeship).

The table given below shows the current state of identification and management of mineral raw materials for engineering works resources in Poland.

Table 1. Mineral raw materials for engineering works - million m³

Production of mineral raw materials for engineering works amounted to 0.066 million m³ in 2014 and decreased significantly in comparison with the previous year (by 44.1 %). At the same time the number of mines exploiting this raw material dropped by 50 %. The drop in production was due to lower demand for raw materials in road building sector.

Economic resources were calculated for 10 deposits and amounted to 4.482 million m³ which accounts for 88 % of anticipated economic and sub-economic resources.

Table 2. List of mineral raw materials for engineering works deposits
– thousand m³

Prepared by: Wojciech Szczygielski